patrick.net

It all depends on what you are going to use it for. In that price range I would seriously consider a NOOK color or perhaps the Kindle Fire.

I have been very pleased with my ASUS Transformer TF101, but I think that it runs around $299 now.

Oh and if you can wait there is also the Google Nexus 7 that is coming out soon.

jvolstad, I was thinking of starting an under $200 tablet smackdown thread. I came up with two candidates in that category so far:
1. A refurbished Acer ICONIA Tab A100 for $169. Major cons: No GPS and battery life is fairly poor (still, at least 4 hours).
2. RIM Blackberry Playbook. Pros: Nice camera, business oriented tablet. Cons: Limited compatibility with Android apps.

To be frank, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2, while over my $200 limit, seems to be the new price/performance/functionality leader in this category. From what I've seen, there are not a lot of compromises with this tablet.

leoj707 says

Oh and if you can wait there is also the Google Nexus 7 that is coming out soon.

I like what I'm hearing about the Google Nexus 7. Will wait to see what it looks like later this month.

I like what I'm hearing about the Google Nexus 7. Will wait to see what it looks like later this month.
I do suppose it's worth a bit of a wait (but isn't that the way with tech). The rumored $199 price point seems a bit of a stretch for a quad core system. I have a hard time believing it will sell for that.

Yeah, I'm considering getting a Google Nexus 7, too. As a developer, I'm interested in the Android platform and this tablet has been giving me hardware lust, you know, the feeling programmers get when they see a shinny new piece of hardware and can't wait to get their dirty hands all over it.

The latest rumors for the Nexus 7 say no primary (front facing) camera.

I hear you can pick up those RIM Playbook tablets cheap now.

EBGuy says

The latest rumors for the Nexus 7 say no primary (front facing) camera.

Nobody wants to see my ugly face. ;-/

I don't need a tablet. I haven't figured out this desktop.

Why just 7"?
I can't imagine less than 9.7"
There are various ones, check out walmart.com and tablets. The reason is the comments are useful, like Amazon.
I was thinking of the Coby or Le Pan ones.

What is interesting the Rim tablets were actually cool, I saw one up in Vancouver a couple weeks ago. I guess they're toast though.

At 40, I laughed off the idea of reading specs.

When I passed 45 reality caught up, I found myself buying a pair.

Now there are some things I can't do on my iPhone and I reach for the iPad with it's 10" screen. For me at least 7" would be too small to fill that niche above phone. YMMV.

I hear you can pick up those RIM Playbook tablets cheap now.
BestBuy has the refurbished units on sale for $139 right now (new $199). That is tempting as my Nokia n810 is getting a bit long in the tooth. Looks like I should be able to use it for geocaching (which isn't pleasant on the Nokia).

I'm still surfing the net like a mofo at home on a Dell D600 that my company was going to throw out 3 years ago. XP, 1 gig of RAM, and can still read what you clowns on Patrick have to say for...... FREE. It's fallen off the table 4-5 times in the last year, and it still works. no viruses, no BSODs, no problems. How do you like dem apples, eh? I'll probably get a tablet this time next year when they're around $150, and can do everything and has everything.

Nexus 7 is looking like it may be worth the wait. No primary camera (that is back facing, I misspoke above). There is a front facing lower res camera for video conferencing. They're also leapfrogging most of the other 7 " tablets (usually 1024x600) and going with a 720p screen (well, 1280x800). This should put some pressure on the other players in the market.

Edit: It does have GPS as well.

EBGuy says

Nexus 7 is looking like it may be worth the wait.

anything with a USB connection is worth waiting.. I will wait for the Linux hackers to make it even better.

AverageBear says

I'm still surfing the net like a mofo at home on a Dell D600 that my company was going to throw out 3 years ago. XP

have a 600 with multiboot.. xp, linux and haiku (beos)... works great.
you can boot system 7 and if your daring.. Mac OSX

http://www.youtube.com/embed/kBzhZ-FIJIU

anything with a USB connection is worth waiting.. I will wait for the Linux hackers to make it even better.
You brought up an interesting point. Some tablets are crippled by that fact that they only support slave mode; hopefully this device can also act as a USB host to a myriad of peripherals.

jvolstad, Did you get a tablet?

@jvolstad

Yeah, did you get a tablet?

EBGuy says

jvolstad, Did you get a tablet?

No, I checked it out at Best Buy and wasn't all that impressed by it. My HTC Rezound with a HD 4.3 screen does fine for me. That as well as being more portable.

jvolstad says

My HTC Rezound with a HD 4.3 screen does fine for me. That as well as being more portable.

Are you under 40? My peepers just can't see the tiny screen. Even with glasses there's a bit of eye fatigue eventually.

CaptainShuddup says

jvolstad says

My HTC Rezound with a HD 4.3 screen does fine for me. That as well as being more portable.

Are you under 40? My peepers just can't see the tiny screen. Even with glasses there's a bit of eye fatigue eventually.

I just turned.....drum roll....the big Six Oh. Got the gray hair to prove it.

I take off my glasses when I'm using my Rezound. That and holding the screen closer to my face helps. The HTC Rezound has a true HD (720p) screen and the type looks great. Even if it's a bit small.

Nexus 7 Specs
------------------
7 inch 1280x800 HD display (216 ppi)
Back-lit IPS display
Scratch-resistant Corning glass
1.2MP front-facing camera
8 GB or 16 GB internal storage (actual formatted capacity will be less)
1 GB RAM
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth
Quad-core Tegra 3 processor
Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean)

Review
http://www.youtube.com/embed/EPLpHev1YnQ

Review
http://www.droid-life.com/2012/07/10/google-nexus-7-review/

Price $200 for 8GB internal storage, $250 for 16 GB internal storage
https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=nexus_7_8gb

Cons
------
1. No HDMI or MHL. That's a big con in my opinion as attaching a tablet to a 50" plasma display is something I'd expect to be able to do.

2. Only one low resolution front-facing camera. Droid mobile phones have dual high-res rear cameras for shooting 3D video.

Help me out Dan. You're expecting a 3D camera in a sub $200 tablet? As far as I can tell, 3D cameras are only available in $400+ devices (and for that matter, there are no high res. rear facing cameras in any of the sub $200 tablets on the market). Just trying to set realistic expectations.

EBGuy says

Help me out Dan. You're expecting a 3D camera in a sub $200 tablet? As far as I can tell,

Obviously not. Just pointing out what the trade-off is. However, I would expect one reasonably high-res camera given that they are pretty cheap nowadays. The main con is lack of HDMI support, in my opinion.

Oh, and just to clarify. There's no such thing as a "3D camera". 3D video is shot using two offset cameras. The 3D effect comes from the different perspective of each frame as seen by each camera.

Dan said: 3D video is shot using two offset cameras.
You got me there as I wasn't thinking that much about it. Tablets are an interesting platform as you can get a nice parallax effect from sensors being located further apart at two corners. I believe, though, you have to pay a premium for the screens for viewing (though this depends on if you're using glasses, a dual screen, or a screen with diff view angles for each eye).
I do agree with you about the HDMI connector. There's cost savings but you think they could make that up by streaming more content to larger displays.

AF said: Ha! For 200 bucks I expect a built in pizza oven!
I believe you're thinking of the tablet based on the Intel AToM chip.

Patrick, this is the problem with your audience, they're a bunch of cheap SOBs. Hasn't anyone purchased a Nexus 7 tablet yet? At $199 you've got Nexux 7 vs. a bit older Samsung Galaxy Tab 2. Here's my take:
Screen: Nexus 7 (1280x800) over Tab 2 (1024x600)
Processor: Nexus 7 (quad core) over Tab 2 (dual core)
Rear facing camera: Tab 2 (3 MPixels) over Nexus 7 (none)
Expansion port: Tab 2 (microSD) over Nexus 7 (none)

Edit -
Remote: Tab 2 (built-in IR blaster) over Nexus 7 (none)

I want one with infrared so I can use it as a remote control. My old Dell Axim x51v PDA could do that. Unfortunately the iPhone & iPad can't, then everybody copied Apple instead of innovating something better, so I'm still waiting.

EBGuy says

Patrick, this is the problem with your audience, they're a bunch of cheap SOBs. Hasn't anyone purchased a Nexus 7 tablet yet? At $199 you've got Nexux 7 vs. a bit older Samsung Galaxy Tab 2. Here's my take:

Screen: Nexus 7 (1280x800) over Tab 2 (1024x600)

Processor: Nexus 7 (quad core) over Tab 2 (dual core)

Rear facing camera: Tab 2 (3 MPixels) over Nexus 7 (none)

Expansion port: Tab 2 (microSD) over Nexus 7 (none)

Cheap, money in the bank and debt free!!!! :-))))

Yup says

Galaxy Note!

I kind of like the looks of the Note II.

Anyone want to defend the iPad mini? My initial reaction is that Apple missed the boat on form factor for a 7" tablet. While they've gone to HD aspect ratio screens on the iPhones, they're maintaining the 4:3 ratio on the iPad line. This make the iPad mini over 1/2" wider than the Android HD competitors. I know that in many reviews, folks like the fact that you can pocket the Android devices. Perhaps I'm making to much of that added extra half inch. It certainly makes sense to keep of aspect ratio for iPad app compatibility. No GPS, too, but you do get a 5 MP camera.

If I can't put the device in my pocket, then I'm not interested.

I have a smartphone for mobile use, a laptop at home.

http://techcrunch.com/2012/10/21/verizon-htc-dlx-htcs-first-north-american-phone-with-1080p-5-inch-display-reportedly-caught-on-camera/

This looks nice and a 5" screen is workable for me.

EBGuy says

Anyone want to defend the iPad mini? My initial reaction is that Apple missed the boat on form factor for a 7" tablet.

Not really, I pretty much agree with your assessment. The iPad mini seems to be a example of Apple following the market rather than leading, and not doing a great job of following either.

EBGuy says

Perhaps I'm making to much of that added extra half inch. It certainly makes sense to keep of aspect ratio for iPad app compatibility.

I think the extra 1/2 inch will make a difference to some. They could have chosen to be compatible with the aspect ratio of the iPhone 5.

The 7 inch tablet market seems to be driven by "low-end" cheap devices in the $200-250 range, and I doubt anyone is going to pay a premium ($330) for a wider device with apparently sub-par hardware unless they are already locked into the Apple ecosystem.

That said, Apple will probably sell 10 million of them.

($330 with no wifi)
I think you mean with no cellular service. The base model is WiFi only.

EBGuy says

($330 with no wifi)

I think you mean with no cellular service. The base model is WiFi only.

Ah, yes you are correct.

It's small for sure. :-)

The Nexus 7 tablet is now $199 for 16 GB and $249 for 32 GB. The 8GB model has been discontinued.

leo707 says

The 7 inch tablet market seems to be driven by "low-end" cheap devices in the $200-250 range, and I doubt anyone is going to pay a premium ($330) for a wider device with apparently sub-par hardware unless they are already locked into the Apple ecosystem.

Yep I've become locked in I suppose.

I got 3G modem option on my iPad1 thinking I would use the GPS and modem on it often. However I rarely used either one. I can find WiFi lots of places and these days I use the Personal HotSpot feature to share data off my phone when I can't.

I know exactly why they went with the size and resolution display they did. It's an existing resolution so no apps need recoding for it.

I had an iPad1 alongside a newer Retina iPad. You know what? I never went out of my way to pick up the Retina iPad whichever one was closest worked just fine. I sold the iPad1 on Craigslist just to clear up some funds for a mini.

I ordered the iPad mini 64gb Wifi model, should be here Friday.

Hey, if you ask around you will find someone who has one in a drawer somewhere.

I have an Android tablet and a few Android phones in a drawer around here somewhere.

There are a lot of Android devices out there but few are being used - might take a clue from the crowds that bought them. Reverse crowd sourcing.

None of the devices were upgradable to a newer version of Android. I am sure there is a hack out there but my time is worth too much.